Monitor your home from afar with hive’s stylish security cam

Person detection, a magnetic mount and high-quality video streaming are but a few highlights of this smart cam

Typically, when you purchase smart home devices sold by Hive you also need to own a Hive hub. This is in order for you to hook your Hive devices up to your home’s Wi- Fi, enabling you to control them from your smartphone. That’s fine if you’re already in bed with the Hive ecosystem, but what if you’re not? Well, in that case you’d probably look elsewhere for something a little more platform agnostic.

But Hive’s latest gadget, a smart security camera called the Hive View (£189, hivehome. com), happens to work independently of its hub, making it open to all. Not to be confused with the original Hive Camera that came out over a year ago, the new View has Bluetooth built-in, so you can connect to it directly with your phone and, in turn, share your Wi- Fi credentials so that you can access and control the View camera wherever you may be.

You’ll still need to use the Hive app to access the View, which will grant you the ability to watch a live video feed, view recorded videos and much more. Things get really clever when you connect the View to other Hive smart home devices. This enables you to create actions to trigger unique events, such as boosting your home’s heating when the camera detects motion, or turning a light on when it’s dark. At this point you’ll need a Hive hub, but it’s not essential – you can still use the Hive view as a regular camera. If you really want to get the most out of the View, though, you’re better off building a Hive ecosystem.

A little sneaky, perhaps, but the View does offer plenty as a standalone offering, making it a worthy smart home security purchase in its own right. For the price you get a greatlooking 1080p HD video feed, accessible 24/ 7, as well as 24-hour video recording (30- day video history is available for £4.99 a month) and person detection. Because the View has an integrated 2100mAh battery, you can place the camera anywhere without needing to tether it to a power socket.

We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention the View’s knockout looks. Designed by worldrenowned Yves Béhar, the View impresses with dual colourways and a sleek, curved cradle and magnetic mount, with which you can attach or detach the camera as you wish.